Archives for 2011

Happy New Year’s Eve! Any big plans tonight? I am hanging out with the fam at my parents house. We are cool like that. If you will remember last year, Bobby wasn’t even living with me and I was at my parent’s house living with them over New Year’s. So strange how much things change in a year!

Another thing that has changed…this time last year I was in the homestretch of marathon training, and this year…well, I’m injured and am only allowed to walk a mile. BUT, hopefully I am in the home stretch of my injury/stress fracture. I haven’t run since Thanksgiving Day, and only started walking this week. I have walked one mile on the treadmill three times, and I am itching to get outside. We have had the most beautiful weather the past few days I think I may be slowly dying inside not being able to run in it.

It has been nice to at least be OUT of the boot and walking again. I got back to the doctor on Tuesday, and hopefully it’s for the last time, and hopefully I will then be cleared to start running. I have had PLENTY of time to think about my comeback, and of course it will hinge on what the doctor instructs me to do. Obviously I won’t be out running ten miles the day I get the ok. I plan to only run one slow mile the first day, and then increase to two miles a week later, then 3 miles the third week if I am still feeling ok. Once I hit three miles I will follow the 10% rule for adding mileage.

It is frustrating to think I will have to go back to basics, when I was in great half marathon shape, but it’s either that or don’t run at all I suppose. Maybe that’s what I needed. A nice long break, and to get back to some running and training basics for more success. We will see if it works. I’m ready to get my sweat on!

I am also going to start running in my Newtons. I know you are supposed to only start with a few minutes a day in them, so I figure it will be perfect since I can only run a little a day to begin with anyway. I have done a lot of research on what is to “blame” for my stress fracture…and I think it’s a combination of

-overuse (3 halfs in 22 days, the last being very hilly.)

-worn out shoes

-too tight shoelaces

-poor running form due to tight, rotated hips, and scoliosis.

I plan to do things to help remedy all of my issues and hopefully I will be pain free in 2012. Injures are one of those things that really forces you to learn to be in tune with and listen to your body. I ran through some pain when I should have stopped, and now I know better. I don’t want to ever end up here again.

No thank you! I plan to train SMARTER this time around, not necessarily harder. I plan to stretch more, do more yoga, strength training, and cross training, and cross my fingers it’s enough to keep me healthy for 2012. I am going to make this a great comeback year. I am determined!

QOTD: What has having an injury taught you about yourself and the way you train?

Happy New Year’s Eve eve! This short week is nice huh? Next week will be short too….so many reasons to love the holidays! We had a busy weekend planned, but a very fun one. But let’s back track. Yesterday, I did some cleaning because my aunt and cousin were coming over. I met them for lunch and then they wanted to come see my house. We girl talked for a while before they left. They Bobby and I hit the gym after he got home from work. I am getting really excited about the prospect of running in a week’s time!

Ok, so let’s talk “resolutions.” I have some mixed feelings about these babies. On one hand, I think it’s GREAT to make plans and goals for the next year. On the other hand, it can easily set you up for failure, and also, why wait until a new year, why not start now?

So, I have decided instead of having resolutions, I will continue to have “mini goals” like I did last year, and also to have something in life I want to “work on.” I feel that if I leave it vague and obscure, I can’t very easily “fail.” I shared with you yesterday that my word for 2012 is determination. This doesn’t have any “specifics” and can mean (and does mean) a lot of different things to me.

What the heck am I saying? For instance…I can decide one day in February “I am determined to paint the rest of our fence, gosh darn it!” See? I can make things up as I go, al falling under the category of working on my determination. I will be picking and choosing things as they happen, and then celebrate the victories afterwards.

With THAT being said, we also have a tradition around our house where we write out goals for the next year and put them in our stocking for safekeeping. Then, the next Christmas when we pull out the decorations, we can look at out goals for the past year. It’s really fun! So, I will continue to do this for the sake of tradition and fun and mainly to see how my goals and life change over the years. These are not “ohmygoshIhavetodothisorelse” kind of goals…just fun things it would be nice to see happen that year. It is good for reflection I think.

SO….I am DETERMIND to make 2012 a great year, whatever that may mean each month. I will let you know how it goes. Game on 2012.

It is a bit overwhelming for me to think of things in terms of an entire year. So many big (and little) things happened this year in my life. Just going back through my posts from this past year has had me laughing and crying all at the same time. Then I re-read my 2010 recap. Whew. 2010 was a particularly tough year, you can check out it’s recap as well.

If I had to describe 2011 in one word, it would be change. Here are just a few changes that took place this past year:

Some of the things that happened this year are not things I wanted. But, over the years I have learned that’s just how life goes. I am such a planner…I have all of these visions and dreams for my life, but I have to remember that I won’t always get my way…that’s not the way God works. The important thing is having faith that on the other side of the valley, there will be a mountaintop (or at least some nice, smooth road!) Life isn’t always easy, but there are plenty of good times to celebrate. Not to mention, as much as I hate to admit this, I learn and grow the most in the tough times.

It’s funny, to look back sometimes. When you are in a particular moment, it is so easy to get distracted and frustrated with the hand you are dealt. Then, later on when there is a solution to your problem or things get easier, there tends to be this “now why did I get so upset over that? See, it’s over, and now something good has happened/come of it!” moment. It’s difficult sometimes, but I try to remember that there is a reason for the tough times, and hopefully one day I can look back on them and see the paths that I have taken (and sometimes going off road!) and how they have led to a greater understanding of my life.

2011 was a very interesting and trying year, but I know 2012 will be great no matter what. I know some things happen TO you and you can’t change them, but this year I am DETERMINED to work on the things that I can control. Yup, that’s right, my word for 2012 is determination. I get into a bad habit of halfway doing things sometimes, and then get upset when I don’t get the results I want. I am determined to try harder to accomplish my goals. No more excuses. I have to be the change to make things happen if I want to achieve things. I know I have it somewhere inside of me, I just need to dig a little.

Thank you all so much for reading RWS this year. I love my readers so much, and truly enjoy sharing my life with you. It’s time for new beginnings, and time to make some changes. I am determined to live up to my potential in all areas of my life. Are you? Let’s go 2012. Bring it on.

Wednesday already? This is a strange week for me. Bobby was off for Christmas on Monday and Tuesday, so it feels like today should be Monday. Oy. Today is the official “where do I put all of the new things I got for Christmas” day, and hopefully it will include some grocery shopping as well. We had a great 5 day “break” but it’s officially back to reality time.

For those of you keeping up, I am still not able to run, and have had some pain in my foot since my last appointment, so I have been wearing my boot on and off as needed. It makes me nervous that it’s not healed by now. I just want to get back to running and blogging about running!

Since I can’t do that, I figure we CAN here someone else talk about it, right? So, let’s meet Susannah and Laura from Running Around the World!

1.) How/Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging as a way to keep track of my training for my first marathon (Marine Corps Marathon 2011), keep myself honest. My sister was blogging as well to journal her travels and life in general for our family and friends. As I got more into the running community this year, and I found so many great runners on blogs and twitter, my writing has moved from just writing race recaps to more of an online journal of my life and training. As this aligned with my sister’s blog, we merged our blogs into Running Around the World. We play off of each other pretty well, so sometimes we get ridiculous. We both love running and travel, so there’s a theme, but we also have other hobbies that I think shows how different we are. My sister is in public health, so she’s got experience with uncommon things (like helping a friend launch a not-for-profit to provide basic health care to kids in Africa), and I’m always up for a new activity or adventure – for example, I love my flying trapeze and trampoline classes. 🙂

2.) Sum up your blog in a couple sentences

Running Around the World journals my sister’s and my stories about running, travel, health and life. We write about our adventures: from running to yoga to the flying trapeze, in all the different places we’ve been: like DC, Alabama, Kenya, and Peru.

3.)What do you wish to accomplish/achieve by blogging?

I’m a fairly slow runner, but I find great joy in finishing a run feeling good. I want to let my friends and other people know that even if you’re slow, or have to do a run/walk to finish, it’s okay! You’re getting out there, you’re getting exercise, and you’re having fun. That’s the most important thing.

4.)What is your biggest healthy living accomplishment?

I consider my biggest healthy living accomplishment to be training for and completing my very first marathon! I’d run a couple of 5ks and a 10-miler, but a marathon sounded so intimidating. Laura finally convinced me to sign up for the MCM. My sister and I both trained (and both got injured) through the summer and fall of 2011 in two different cities, but came together in October to run the MCM. I kind of think the challenge of running a marathon, and our competitive natures, really spurred us on to lay the groundwork to be able to complete the race. While we were slow due to our various injuries, we were able to run the first half together, and we found each other at the finish to take our finisher picture together.

How fun to blog with your sister! I think it’s so awesome they travel and run together. What a cool and unique blog! Be sure to check our their blog and their twitter pages as well:

Laura: @laurabrianna

Susannah: @SuzyLou_Who

Thanks girls!

Someone asked me where I got my Christmas Day outfit, happy to oblige.

Good morning! Yesterday was quite sad. It was rainy and gloomy, and we left my parents house, so Christmas is officially over. Sad! We are back home and trying to get back to normalcy. Bobby is off work today, so we are getting to hang out, go to the gym, etc.

I hope you enjoyed my Christmas eve recap from yesterday, and here is what we did on Christmas day!

We woke up at 7:15 and headed downstairs. There was a fire roaring, the tree looked beautiful, and the Christmas music was playing. I grabbed some coffee, and it was time to open presents!

We always steal one of my parents suitcases when we go on vacation because we don’t have enough, so they got us one so we would “stop stealing theirs.”

You know you are a runner when your parents put clif shots in your stocking.

Bobby has a big gift for me and I had no idea what it was…turns out it was one, of a set! he got me the nightstands that go with our bedroom set! (So far all we had was the bed.) I was stoked!

My mom’s birthday is on Christmas day, and I couldn’t wait until dinner for her to open her gift, so I made her open it tat morning.

She had been wanting a Disney Dooney of that style for a long time, so she was quite excited!

After making my cream cheese Danish for everyone for breakfast, we were off to my cousin’s house.

Check it out, they recently got two corvettes, and redid their garage to match. So. freaking. cool.

We had lunch with a lot of our relatives, always a plentiful amount of amazing food.

There was also a birthday cake for mom!

After all the eating, Bobby decided an afternoon nap was in order.

aaannddd my dad didn’t want him to have the luxury.

Trying to get everyone together for pictures is always a good laugh.

cousins!

the boys

brother and sisters

Look how cute they are.

We drove home through the yucky rain, and you bet, ate again! This time it was in front of the fire and TV while we watched Home Alone.

My sister and her husband came over later, just in time for more cake and ice cream. It was pretty late by time they left, and we were all very much in a food coma, so none of us fought off sleep. It was a great Christmas with my family, but as usual, it went by way too fast! I hope you had just as great of a weekend as I did! Only 363 more days…It will be here before you know it. Merry Christmas.

As I mentioned last year, today is one of the most sad days of the year for me. I am obsessed with the Christmas season, so the end of it is just so depressing. We usually leave our decorations up until New Years, but honestly, I am just ready to put everything away because it makes me so sad how far away next year is from now. I had a great weekend with my family and it went by SO FAST and I don’t want it to end. January and February are my least favorite months of the year. Christmas is over, and It’s just cold outside! Ok now that I have bummed everyone out, here is what we did on Christmas eve.

I woke up early to get into the kitchen. I had a LOT of baking to do. I always give our relatives (aunts, uncles, cousins) a bunch of baked goods for Christmas. I made the Snickers cookies I make every year, fudge, reindeer food, and pretzel candy. My mom was baking as well, so it was fun to just hang out in the kitchen all day listening to Christmas music. The boys could come in and out from playing the Wii and watching TV. (They also had to make a quick trip to the grocery store for me for pretzels!)

My dad cooked some prime rib that we were going to eat for dinner, so we had to smell it all day as it cooked. Delicious!

I took a couple breaks to take pictures and watch the boys for a few minutes.

she wouldn’t look at the camera!

neither would she!

We had pizza for lunch, then that afternoon we headed into New Orleans to visit my grandmother and my uncle. Unfortunately, the only picture I took was of Bobby holding my grandmother’s obese dog. You can’t tell from the picture, but this dog is massive.

We ate an early dinner over there before heading to church.

Side note…anyone ever heard of Jessee Duplantis, the televangelist? Well, he just built his “new house” down the street from my grandmother….it’s over 31k square feet and has a bowling alley. He “preaches” on TV and begs people to send him money in the name of God…and then he lives in this. Makes. me. sick. DO NOT SEND HIM MONEY! HE IS A FRAUD! here is his house:

I wish I was kidding. Ok, back to happy thoughts! So we headed to church at First Baptist New Orleans (my parents church), which is where I got married almost 5 years ago.

It was a great service. We were all given candles, and at the end, we all lit our candles by passing the flame from person to person all around the church. Then we stood up, raising our candles with all the lights off in the sanctuary, and sang silent night. It was absolutely beautiful and such a great moment. My favorite part was when we sang this verse, all holding out candles:

Merry Christmas! I hope you are all having an amazing day spending time with your loved ones. We have had a great time so far, but more on that later. I want to spend time actually enjoying Christmas, I will blog more about it later. We are headed to my cousin’s house, and then back home for my mother’s birthday celebration! Mama RWS is 29 today, again!

From the Montgomery family, we hope you have a very Merry Christmas, full of Joy and love.

“For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord”

Luke 2:11

Remember the reason for the season, and be thankful for what you have. When you really think about it, we are all so very very blessed. I am so thankful for my blessings, and for all of you. Thank you for reading RWS, I love y’all!

It’s Christmas Eve! It’s Christmas Eve! Bobby and I (and the girls) are at my parents house for a few days to celebrate. Today will be lots of baking, lots of Christmas music, and of course, a fire in the fireplace. We are going to visit my grandmother and then go to church later this evening, and then my sister an her husband will probably come over. I can’t believe the holiday snuck up on us so fast, I’m excited but also sad that so soon it will all be over. Yes I am one of “those” sentimental people.

On Thursday night, Karen and her husband Jason stopped in for the night at our house on their way back from Disney World. We took them out to our favorite Mexican restaurant, and Karen and I did a lot of chatting until late into the night. It was great to catch up!

Please ignore my wild hair and no makeup.

I was sad they had to go so soon, but we also had a lot of packing up to do to get to my parents!

Last night, we did a lot of chatting and catching up by the fire, followed by a game of scrabble flash. We ate our favorite pizza from a place called Marco’s, and then all watched The Santa Clause. So far it’s been a great holiday weekend, and I can’t wait to have some more Christmas fun!

I hope wherever you are, that you are enjoying time with your loved ones. I love y’all!

Ggoooodddd morning! It is officially starting to feel like Christmas! I started doing some baking, and this afternoon we will head to my parents for a few days. No worries, I will have my trusty laptop companion.

Today I wanted to tell you a little about a product I was asked to try out, and host a giveaway for. Yes, that’s right, Christmas come early on RWS, it’s giveaway time!

OrthoLite Fusion Insoles sent me product to try out, and they are going to give away some insoles to THREE lucky RWS readers.

These are great because both men and women can use them, in any athletic shoe or boot. Because of the way they are made, they allow air to circulate around your shoe/foot keeping it cooler and drier. It also wicks moisture away from your foot. I don’t know about you, but when I run or workout, I get some sweaty feet. Which brings me to my next point….they also fight fungus, bacteria and shoe odor. If your shoes smell anything like mine, this is a big plus.

The insoles are also lightweight and washable. (I KNOW you were wondering about that, wicking away moisture and all, I’m sure they would need to be washed!)

They retail for $19.99. Be sure to check out their website for more product information. BUT, three of you will get a pair for ffrrreeee! Nothing better than free right?

Obviously, I cannot run right now, but I did put the insoles in my walking shoes, and as soon as I was cleared to walk Tuesday, walk I did. The insoles felt springy and soft, very comfortable. I am excited to see how they do with a really sweaty workout!

So how do you win some new insoles to start off 2012 on the right foot? (haha, I crack myself up!) Please leave a separate comment for each entry. You have until 8 pm CST on December 30 to enter, and I will pick 3 random winners and announce them on New Year’s Eve.

1.) Tell me what your workout/fitness related goal or resolution is for 2012

So I went to the doctor on Tuesday, confident that my foot was going to be fine, and I would be walking without the boot by that afternoon, and running within a few days. It never crossed my mind that what I wanted may not happen.

My foot never really “hurt” except the couple days after I ran, so I really had no way of knowing if it was better. They did some more x-rays, the doctor came in…and then he started pushing. hard. on the top/bones of my foot going to my toes. OW!!!! It. still. hurt. bad. He said the x rays still showed the exact same thing they showed before….but he was concerned that it sill hurt when he pressed on my foot in a couple of places. He decided I could come out of the boot, with the understanding that I was to put it back on if it started hurting….and that I couldn’t run, and needed to come back to see him in two more weeks. Ouch.

I was under the impression I would be able to start training and possibly run a half marathon the last weekend of January. Boy was I wrong. I tried so so hard to hold it together and not cry in front of the doctor, I was able to wait until I got into the car, but even that was difficult. I was a little in shock, and very, very angry. My third injury in two years. Always right when I start to get faster. Why. why. why. why. why. I had a pretty big pity party for myself for a full day.

After a lot of thinking, and a lot of praying, I realized a few things.

1.) I am still mad. I think it’s going to take awhile for that to go away.

2.) Even though I am mad, and aware that I am mad, I know I will get over it, and be ok with it.

3.) I cannot change what happened. It is what it is, and all I can do is try to make the best of it.

4.) I can either sit around and mope and be bitter, or I can try to learn something from this and be better because of it.

5.) I do not have to be a victim of my circumstances. I can still be positive despite what is going on in my life that I don’t like.

I am still in the “I’m getting there” stage, and by no means am I out of the angry stage. I hate missing half of the racing season. I hate that I worked so hard to get into half marathon shape and now it’s slowly going away. I hate that I don’t know exactly how long this is going to last or when I will be able to run again.

BUT, despite all of this, it is the week of Christmas, and I have SO MUCH to be thankful for. I am not going to let this ruin Christmas , or my outlook. I am sure I will still have some bad moments, but I am really trying to not allow myself to dwell on how annoyed I am. I am very blessed and a lot of worse things could be going on in my life right now. I have a home, and a family to spend Christmas with. I am going to try to focus on that the next few days and hopefully two weeks will fly by.

QOTD: When you are in a crappy situation, what helps you to get through it?

Hi! I am Heather Montgomery, formerly known as Running With Sass®, a 31 year old living in Tampa, Florida with my husband and two year old daughter. I’m just a regular girl who likes to run, travel, go to Disney World, and eat junk food.
Thank you for visiting my blog! Feel free to contact me, (or for PR inquiries) at [email protected]